''From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China'' is a 1979 documentary film about Western culture breaking into
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
produced and directed by
Murray Lerner. It portrays the famous violinist and music teacher
Isaac Stern as the first American musician to collaborate with the China Central Symphony Society (now China National Symphony Orchestra).
Contents
The film documented Stern's rehearsals and performances of violin concertos by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
. Stern is featured with the famous Chinese conductor
Li Delun, who also acted as his guide and translator on his trip. The film also included footage of Stern's visit to the Central Conservatory of Music and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he lectured to the Chinese music students on violin playing and the art of musical expression. Most of those musicians were playing mechanically, especially the String section, prior to the human improvements, concerning the qualities of the orchestras. One conductor was imprisoned in a closet for playing works by
Ludwig van Beethoven, during the
Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, when Western music was prohibited under the rule of
Mao Zedong.
Among many others talented players, young cellist
Jian Wang (at the time only ten years old) is featured briefly. Jian Wang has gone on to international stardom. Another performer, violinist
Vera Tsu Weiling, was featured playing ''Caprice after a study in the form of a waltz'' by
Saint-Saens, arranged by
Ysaÿe.
Reception
The film won the
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1981.
It was also screened out of competition at the
1981 Cannes Film Festival
The 34th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 27 May 1981. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Człowiek z żelaza'' by Andrzej Wajda. The festival opened with '' Three Brothers'' (''Tre fratelli'') by Francesco Rosi and closed with '' Honeysuckle R ...
.
Preservation
The
Academy Film Archive preserved ''Mao to Mozart'' in 2000.
References
External links
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1979 films
Chinese documentary films
Chinese-language films
American documentary films
Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners
Films directed by Murray Lerner
1979 documentary films
Documentary films about China
Documentary films about classical music and musicians
1970s English-language films
1970s American films
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